RESULTS (M) | RESULTS (W)

DURHAM, N.H.—The UMass Lowell track and field program made a quick trip north Saturday morning to continue their stellar outdoor stretch at the 2022 Wildcat Invite hosted by New Hampshire. Despite inclement weather cutting the afternoon short for the track crew, the River Hawks still logged another strong showing in the field.
 
"We competed very well even with a shortened day," commented Head Coach Gary Gardner.
 
Leading the way, sophomore Martina Nkwantah (Pepperell, Mass.), freshman Arlene Davila (Peabody, Mass.) and junior Shataeya Smith (Malden, Mass.) all notched personal bests in the hammer throw to start the day. Nkwantah hit 38.73m (127'1") to set a new top-10 program time on her way to claiming sixth overall. Following their fellow thrower, Davila and Smith hit 35.46m (116'4") and 30.16m (98'11") to set new collegiate-best distances.
 
Nkwantah kept her career day rolling in the shot put. A strong toss earned the sophomore first overall in the event thanks to an impressive 13.17m (43'2.5") mark. Graduate student Jasmine McFarlane (South Yarmouth, Mass.) came in just three spots behind her teammate with a 12.29m (40'4") throw to finish fourth overall.
 
Moving to the pit, a trio of River Hawks picked up top-10 marks in the long jump. Sophomore Wonuola Ashaju (Lagos, Nigeria) placed seventh in the event with a 5.23m (17'2") jump to kick things off. The jumper was followed by her classmate Rebecca Crosier (Shaftsbury, Vt.), who claimed eighth with a 5.03m (16'6") leap. Keeping in line with the sophomore success, Alexandria Grasso (North Reading, Mass.) set a personal-best distance of 4.99m (16'4.5") to finish ninth.
 
Junior Sydney Lewis (Nashua, N.H.) closed out the jumps for UMass Lowell with a top-eight placement in the high jump. The multi-event athlete cleared 1.57m (5'1.75") to earn sixth overall.
 
The women's field crew ended their day with a pair of top marks in the pole vault. Senior Rachel Hill (North Reading, Mass.) led the River Hawks' efforts with a 3.40m (11'1.75") height to tie for third. Hill was followed by freshman Jules Gravier (Bronxville, N.Y.), who soared over 3.10m (10'2") to tie for eighth overall.
 
Taking the sole track event for the UMass Lowell women's team, seniors Kayley Moran (Hackettstown, N.J.) and Nina Tasker (Lebanon, Maine) recorded top-five times in the 100m hurdles. Coming in hot on each other's heels, Moran crossed in 15.75 and Tasker clocked in immediately after at 15.76.
 
"It was another good day for the field event athletes. [We saw] personal bests for Pat in the hammer, Martina in the shot put and Max in the pole vault. They all combined to make us a complete team," remarked Gardner.
 
Similar to their counterparts on the women's squad, the men's throwing contingent saw their own trio of career-best throws in the hammer. Graduate student Patrick Pang (Peabody, Mass.) notched another first-place finish in the event thanks to a personal-best 58.09m (190'7") toss. Senior Hayden Dillow (Franklin, Mass.) earned a PR and sixth place overall with a distance of 47.02m (154'3"). Rounding out the group, freshman Ian Camerato (Mount Laurel, N.J.) hit 34.96m (114'8") to surpass his previous career-best mark and take ninth.
 
Adding to their day, Pang and Dillow picked up top marks in the shot put alongside graduate student DeReginald Walker (Rancho Cordova, Calif.). Dillow led the crew in fourth off a 14.35m (47'7.75") throw, followed by Walker in fifth with a 14.52m (47'1") mark and Pang in eighth with a distance of 13.71m (44'11.75").
 
Sophomore Daniel Cuddy (Hudson, Mass.) capped the throwing events for the River Hawks in the javelin, hitting 35.99m (18'10") to earn seventh and set a new career best.
 
UMass Lowell continued its domination in the jumps, with three top-eight finishes in both the long jump and high jump. In the pit, junior Evans Oduro (Kumasi, Ghana) and seniors Elie Kalambay (Lynn, Mass.) and Juan Avelino (Santo Domingo, D.R.) went two-five-eight for the River Hawks.
 
Avelino also competed in the high jump alongside sophomore Michael Makiej (Andover, Mass.) and freshman Luke Stelmach (Sterling, Mass.). Makiej led the trio with a third-place finish after clearing 1.95m (6'4.75"). Stelmach and Avelino finished not far behind in fifth and seventh place after successfully leaping over heights of 1.90m (6'2.75") and 1.80m (5'10.75"), respectively.
 
The lone River Hawk in the pole vault, sophomore Maxwell Davis (Stoneham, Mass.) glided over 4.40m (14'5.25") to claim second.
 
Transitioning to the track, the team squeaked out a quartet of top finishes across three events. Freshman Nick Melisi (Natick, Mass.) stunned in his 3,000m steeplechase debut with a second-place time of 10:02.10.
 
In the 4x100m relay, senior Joseph Young (Shrewsbury, Mass.) sophomore Aras Kaya (Winchester, Mass.), junior Sean Glass (Haverhill, Mass.) and freshman Ben Ayotte (Salisbury, Mass.) brought their explosive speed to help UMass Lowell claim first with a final time of 43.00.
 
Closing out the day, sophomores Zachary Lalonde (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Nicholas Woolsey (Pepperell, Mass.) tackled the 110-meter hurdles. Lalonde paced the duo with a 16.01 finish good for third overall. Woolsey came in just five-tenths of a second later in 16.62 to clinch seventh.
 
The River Hawks return to action on Thursday, April 14, when they travel to North Andover, Mass. for the 2022 Merrimack College Invitational.